BROOK PARK, Ohio
– This time of the year can be very refreshing to those of us who follow the
news and read and hear a lot of bad news. With the holidays, it seems, more
people find their humanity and are willing to think about others. I just wish
it would last 12 months of the year, don't you? All of our churches will be
super busy and one of our busiest is Redeemer
Lutheran Church,
6151 Smith Road.

Theme of the 10 a.m.
worship on first Sunday of Advent, Dec. 1, is Hearth and Home and following the
service there will be a big bonfire in the courtyard with marshmallows, hot
dogs, cider, hot chocolate and carols. As the days grow darker in Advent, it's
time to light another candle, so participants will be constructing luminaries
and cutting out paper snowflakes. The Rev. Michael Oakley is inviting friends
and neighbors to participate.

Corey Fritz

A sad note

I had no idea until former Ford
Middle School teacher, Anne Cole
e-mailed to tell me that Corey Fritz, died on Aug. 28 – his 23rd
birthday. I don't know how I missed the notice. Corey was a pretty special
person who was in our paper many times. Corey fought heart failure his entire
life and had three heart transplants over his young life. I think the last time
I wrote about him, he was so happy to have graduated from high school. Our residents were extremely supportive of
Corey and his valiant fight. His parents, Becky and Dan, asked me to tell you
how much they appreciated the support of our community over the years. Becky said Corey was on the waiting list for
a fourth heart and a second kidney because the kidney she donated was also
giving out and he was on dialysis. He had been home from the hospital while
waiting and it was at the dialysis center his heart gave out. She said the Brook
Park paramedics did everything possible to save him.
Becky said Corey never gave up mentally and, in fact, was planning a trip when
he got his new heart. Becky said that the funeral home was packed with people
who knew him and that two of his cardiologists spoke at his funeral. Our
thoughts and prayers go out to his parents and siblings Shawn, Kevin, Heather
and Andrea and everyone who knew and loved him.

Busy time

Brook Park in
celebrating the Holiday Season with lots of great events planned throughout
December. Dec. 7 will be packed with events starting at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast sponsored by the Titan
Youth Football program at the Community Center, 17400
Holland Road. It will continue to noon. From 10
a.m. to noon, Santa and
Mrs. Claus will make a special visit to the center and families are invited to
bring the children for a free photo and ornament.

Following the Pancake Breakfast and the visit with Santa
will be the rescheduled Annual Holiday Parade at 1
p.m. starting at Brookgate
Shopping Center. Everyone was worried
that our parade had been canceled, but luckily, the city was able to schedule
it on the 7th. Remember, the Brook Park Beautification & Pride
Committee will be collecting nonperishable foods and health items at the
parade. The collection will be done by the Boy Scouts following their
float in the parade. Please pack your food items in blue plastic bags.

And then

The Lions Club Pancake Breakfast will be held starting at 9 a.m. at the snack bar of the Community Center
while the sixth annual craft show will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
at the center. Many local crafters and vendors will be there. Hand-made
wood products, ceramics, jewelry, dog treats, hair accessories, hand-made
purses, scarves, heat wraps, memory boards, home made cheese dips/sauces,
knitted and crocheted items along with vendors such as Tupperware, Avon, Our
Hearts Desire and Scentsy, just to name a few. Tri-City Soccer
will be there selling Around Town Coupon Books and Spirit Wear. Organizers
will be accepting food donations at the event for the local food pantries
in the area. This is a great way to get your last minute shopping done, grab a
bite to eat, help support your local crafters and enjoy the holiday
season.

First, the free community meal will be from 4-6:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at the church. If you need a
good meal or feel you can benefit from getting out and meeting people at
supper, be sure to stop in.

The Audrey's Outreach program will host a fundraising holiday
show from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Dec. 15 with door prizes, silent
auctions, bake and candy sale, hot food and many vendor tables. All monies
raised during this event will go toward the outreach programs including the
Food Pantry, Clothing Giveaways, Community Meals, Senior Lunches and Community
Garden. Come shop for Christmas and
bid on an auction that day.

The second event will be a Christmas Giveaway for families
in need from 2-7 p.m. Dec. 23, also at
the church. There will be toys, clothes, shoes, hats, gloves, etc. for ages
from babies to teens. There may be a rack for adult's clothes but workers
are trying to focus on helping kids. Christmas giveaway is for families in the Brook
Park and surrounding communities. They are accepting
donations of new or like new toys and clothes.

Staying busy

Some exciting news to report about local artist Nancy
Notarianni, who has a painting in the Ohio Watercolor Society Annual Traveling
Show that is currently traveling throughout Ohio. This past week, the set decorator
for the TV show, Hawaii Five O, purchased one of her paintings, which will be
used in the TV series. Wow! Nancy
has a website and a "nanogallery" on Etsy.

She also is planning a Beginning Adult Watercolor Class
from 7-9 p.m. starting Jan. 14 at the
Middleburg Heights Community Center, 15700 Bagley Road. Contact her at
440-364-3501.

Congratulations

The top five sellers for the Brook Park Memorial Elementary
Market Day Fundraiser were Dale Brooks, Sharnise Williams, Daymon Duman,
Laryssa Torres and Jorge Rosario. All five students were treated to lunch courtesy
of Pasta Lear's. Dale Brooks, the top seller, was rewarded with a $100 Visa
Gift Card. More than $4,000 was raised to be added to the school's Playground
Improvement Fund. Also congratulations to Amanda Amantea and Ryan
Lane for collecting the most labels and lids in
the label collection contest.

Volunteers

Patty Astorino received a request
from a Brook Park business person
who is organizing a Winter Shopping Extravaganza from 1-4:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Middleburg
Heights Community Center.
She is seeking high school volunteers to act as elves to work at the Kids'
Korner doing gift wrapping, singing carols, etc. If you need volunteer hours,
here's a chance to have some fun doing it. Just call Dina Williamson at
440-503-9690.

Williamson said she will also be
collecting canned goods and selling raffle tickets to go to Audrey's Outreach.

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